Meet our featured beauty with brains Rebecca Ribbons, a fashion designer based in Sydney, Australia. Here is her story.
“Mostly self taught and under the tutelage of my beautiful mother/angel, bridal couturier Rose Ribbons, I learn more and more as I go along a similar journey to hers, the absolute creativity, patience and diligence that she tried to teach me. These qualities though I am finding, can only be learned in time and in the doing.
I studied fashion design after finishing high school but didn’t pursue it for about a decade, which I spent learning business and working as a bookkeeper in a variety of small businesses. I enjoyed it as much as possible but eventually couldn’t ignore the need to follow my creative urges towards fashion and design.
So I started my label, Smoke’n’Whisky, with the help of my former partner. We named it after our two cats, Smoke (may she be at peace) and Whisky, the ginger legend.
Smoke’n’Whisky was originally my little rebel clothing label where I made interesting pieces of clothing mostly inspired by fabric. This was and still is the outlet for my raging fabric fetish and slightly rebellious inclinations. Smoke’n’Whisky was born in 2007 and however old it becomes, will always be my baby.
Following a dream we both held, my mother and I went into partnership and opened a Couture dressmaking studio in Newport in 2010. We worked together there for three years, during which I learnt so much more from her, which I never knew that I didn’t know. In 2015, Rosy retired to play bridge and golf in the country with my father, and after much soul searching and consideration that a Libran gives to anything important, I decided to re-focus on my true love of fabric and design and pick up my sleeping baby, Smoke’n’Whisky.
As I am inspired by fabric, I began sourcing fabric from cultures such as Japan and India and have found much joy in re-birthing traditional garments into my own interpretations in partnership with the fabric itself.
My focus is on developing new styles of marrying the fabric with the female body to achieve a sense of balance and beauty in a delicate fusion of fabric, form and function.
I strive to maintain strong ethical principles surrounding all aspects of my business model and design process, remaining true to my values of sustainability, transparency and fair trade practices.
My objective is to breathe new life into the art of couture and create a sustainable and profitable business model to rise from the morass of corporate fast fashion, that respects and promotes others and allows a space for co-creation, equality and respect. And to help create a network of craftspeople, artists, designers, who work together to create a platform from which we can all earn a fair and sustainable income from our work.
I honour the qualities of Integrity, Respect, Honesty, Kindness and Courage and above all, Freedom.
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